The speaker’s sword symbolizes, as the Self directly states, “love and war” (Line 19). The sword is clearly a weapon of war, and it is also an opulent phallic symbol that illustrates the Self’s earthly desires. As something ancient yet pristine, it also represents the eternity and immortality of the soul. More than this, however, the sword is representative of a real-life artefact; in 1920, Yeats was presented with an ancient Japanese sword as a token of gratitude for his work. The sword then becomes a broader, deeper symbol of the power of art and its ability to forge connections across the world.